Developer Philip Garrett wants to clear cut and burn the brush to build a housing development on 60 acres of land adjacent to the game reserve. Concerned about all the animals that will die in the fire, Mark and Boomhauer hatch a scheme to get Mr. Garrett to the woods to see the animals and hopefully decide not to raze the land. They 'borrow' Garrett's wife's dog Hollyhock and tell him the dog liked it there when Mark walked him there and probably returned. But the dog escapes from Boomhauer's buggy and when they find it it is being pursued by wild bear Gertrude, protecting her three cubs (Eeny, Meeny, and Miney). Tom rescues Hollyhock and Mr. Garrett decides to leave most of the land as it is and just use a small area for cattle.

A little girl gets lost in the Everglades. There is also an injured wildcat roaming the same area. Against his father's orders, Mark and Ben join in the search. Just as the girl is cornered by the wildcat, Mark and Ben find her and Ben scares the wildcat off. The main search party hears the commotion and the girl is reunited with her father.

A couple of con artists try to steal Ben to gamble on him in fights against dogs. Unable to get Ben, they find another bear. Tom and Ben break up the illegal bear-baiting ring.

A group of Seminole children approach Mark for help in attending his school, having been impressed by him getting Jimmie Boy into the school in the earlier episode ""The Invasion of Willie Sam Gopher"". Their main drawback is that they live on islands and don't have a boat to get them to school. Mark offers the winnings of the air boat race his father is in the next day to buy the boat. On the way to the race, Ellen tips the jeep and is trapped. Mark uses Ben to get the jeep off of her leg but she still can't move because it's broken. Mark contacts his father on the radio- he has just won the race and comes to help. At the victory celebration Tom gives the check to the Seminole kids to buy a boat and Mark gives Tom's winner's medal to Ben, who was the real hero of the day.

Tom offers Packy Benner some work, but he decides he can make more money more easily by stealing Ben and waiting for a reward. Tom is on to him and runs into Packy at the general store. Speaking so as to be overheard by Packy, he tells the shopkeeper that he's glad Ben is gone because he eats so much. Realizing that his scheme isn't going to work he returns the bear to Tom. Tom tells him that if he wants to give the bear back he wants money from Packy, tricking Packy into doing the work Tom previously offered for pay as compensation for taking Ben from him.

Hunting guide Joe Cardigan takes rich Miami big game hunter John Coberly into the swamp looking for a bear. Messing up on his first attempt and enticed by the promise of $1000 for a big bear, Cardigan steals Ben when nobody is home at the Wedloe residence. Tom, Mark, Boomhauer and his dogs track Ben's scent to Cardigan's cabin and force him to reveal where Ben is. Meanwhile, Coberly has spotted Ben but gets trapped under a log while tracking him.They find Ben and Coberly and Ben is able to free Coberly.

Mark befriends an older boy with a minibike, Steve, and ignores Ben, who stops eating. Mark punishes Ben for being a nuisance and Ben runs away. Mark realizes that Ben is his only true friend when his Steve dumps him for an older boy with a Honda 90 motorcycle. Mark falls into a pit dug by illegal trappers while looking for Ben. When Mark is threatened by a cougar Ben comes to the rescue.

Looking for an injured deer they saw the day before, Mark and Ben hitch a ride directly into the area which becomes engulfed in a wildfire. The instinctively go to the river to seek refuge from the fire and Tom rescues them in the airboat.

Two armed criminals run into the swamp to elude the police after robbing a jewellery store. Tom, Mark and Ben are camping in the same area. While Mark and Ben are elsewhere, the fugitives force Tom to take them to another part of the swamp in his airboat to help their escape. Tom gets away from them and while they search for him, he overpowers one of them and Ben the other.

Right after Mark has been teased by girls on the school boat, his cousin Virginia comes to stay with the Wedloes for the weekend. Mark tries to entertain her but she is reluctant to do anything. Mark and Virginia find an old sea mine in the channel while fishing and she won't help him move it so he goes to his father for help. Virginia talks to Ellen about being afraid, and Virginia decides to face her fears by taking Ben and some rope to move the mine. When Tom hears of this, he, Mark and Boomhauer race to stop her. They get her and Ben to safety just as the mine explodes.

Tom's boss visits and offers him the job of District Manager, which means more money, no danger, and a move to the big city. The family visits the city and are impressed by the parks, schools, office, and culture. However they are less impressed by the unfriendly people, bad traffic and rude drivers. They also would have to get rid of Ben. When they get back home they decide that they like it just where they are.

Farmer Lloyd Larkin thinks local alligator Ol' Joe has turned rogue and is eating his pigs and chickens. Tom offers to catch him and move him away, enlisting the help of champion alligator wrestler Boomhauer. Mark and Ellen go fishing and discover that the pigs and chickens are actually being stolen by Larkin's farmhands. Tom captures them after a long chase and Larkin realizes Ol' Joe is harmless, and states that now ""Ol' Joe's gotta stay.""

A dolphin comes up the channel and hangs around the Wedloe's dock. He and Ben become friends and Mark considers him his pet. Mark is disappointed when he finds out that the dolphin escaped from Miami Seaquarium and has to go back before he is lured by the wild dolphins at sea in mating season. The lure of mating season is too strong for the dolphin, Marco Polo, and he heads to sea with Ben following.

Mark is despondent as he has not just lost his new pet, Marco Polo, but his old pet Ben. Frank from Seaquarium takes Mark and Tom out on a boat to find Ben and Marco Polo. They spot Ben on a small island and as they get his attention and he swims for the boat he is threatened by a shark. Marco Polo comes to the rescue and nudges the shark away from Ben. Ben climbs a ladder to get onto the boat, and Marco Polo is returned to Seaquarium.

After Mark has a series of mishaps that soil three pairs of Tom's pants, Tom is angry at him. Feeling unwanted, Mark moves in to Ben's shed. While fishing, a fisherman comes by the river and hires Mark as his guide. The small boat overturns at a rough spot in the river and Mark and Mr. Carter are threatened by alligators and a cougar. Tom hears the commotion and scares off the alligators while Ben scares off the cougar. Mark and Tom have a heart-to-heart conversation and clear the air between them.

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